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Calls for mandatory reporting of child sex offences

SALLY SARA: The Victorian inquiry into the handling of sexual abuse has been urged to recommend the mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse to police. The submission was made by the peak body for the state's lawyers, the Law Institute of Victoria.

But the institute says when it comes to evidence obtained in the confessional a balance test should be used.

The president of the Law Institute of Victoria, Michael Holcroft, spoke to Samantha Donovan.

MICHAEL HOLCROFT: We stressed to the inquiry that we wanted a mandatory reporting requirement included in the Crimes Act, which means that it would be an offence for people, including ministers of religion, to fail to report a reasonable suspicion of sexual assault within those religious and spiritual organisations.

SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Who at the moment is obliged to make that sort of mandatory report?

MICHAEL HOLCROFT: Absolutely no one in Victoria is required to make a report to the police in relation to child sex offences. Now most people do not understand that. There is a requirement for certain people, such as school teachers, doctors, nurses and the like to make reports to the Department of Human Services if they reasonably suspect that a child is being abused, but at the moment no one is required to make that report to the police.

SAMANTHA DONOVAN: And what do you think should happen when an admission is made to a priest in the confessional?

MICHAEL HOLCROFT: If there is to be an exception for evidence given in the confessional then a balancing test should be applied, should apply. So there's not just a standard across the board exception, you need to weigh up that duty of confidentiality in the confessional and they'd have to be weighed up against the risk of immediate and ongoing future harm.

SAMANTHA DONOVAN: So if, for example, a priest hears a confession from another priest or another person abusing a young child, what should happen then?

MICHAEL HOLCROFT: What we're saying is the priest hearing the confession would need to decide whether there is a risk of future abuse or, for example, if it was something that happened 30 years ago, they might not have to report it. If it was, this is ongoing we would say they should have to report it.

SAMANTHA DONOVAN: In terms of mandatory reporting generally, would it only apply in the Law Institute submission to the sexual abuse of children? What happens, for example, if an adult comes forward and says I was abused years ago?

MICHAEL HOLCROFT: If the abuse happened when the person was a child then it should have to be reported, even if that abuse comes to light after that person has become an adult.

SAMANTHA DONOVAN: What are the issues that arise with compensation for abuse that may have occurred a long time ago?

MICHAEL HOLCROFT: There's a number of different issues there, and they include the fact that the Catholic Church is not a body recognised at law in Victoria, it has a very unique status. And, in fact, most of the assets of the Catholic Church are tied up in different property trusts, and they're entities that are set up for the purposes of holding the property, not actually running the church.

There's also an issue about whether or not the clergy are an employee of the church. So if they're not an employee, can the church be held responsible for the acts of those clergy? And we're certainly calling on this committee to recommend that legislation be put in place so that the actions of the clergy, and we're not just talking about priests obviously we're talking about other members of the clergy as well in different churches, can actually be the responsibility of those religious and spiritual organisations.

SALLY SARA: Michael Holcroft, the president of the Law Institute of Victoria, speaking with Samantha Donovan.